TBK-Light.com

Yeah, A1 is shit anyway, they had what, 17 cars at Zandvoort? Half the drivers are amateur anyway.

Major sponsor says Indy dead
Mike Bruce

October 24th, 2008

INDY on the Gold Coast is dead, according to one of its major sponsors. Bartercard executive chairman Wayne Sharpe yesterday revealed to The Bulletin the Indy Racing League had already decided not to return to the Gold Coast next year.

As a result he has withdrawn more than $1 million in sponsorship for 2009.

What this means is that not only has the event lost a major sponsor, but it makes the 2008 Miss Indy competition the last, said Mr Sharpe, who has been told next year's event would feature V8s only.

"Basically next year's event will be a 'Bathurst on the Gold Coast," said Mr Sharpe. "The reality is they have taken the race off next year's series, despite the rubbish that's been spun here recently.

"We won't be back next year and are already planning for something else, probably in Europe and probably around the (Formula One) Grand Prix in Monaco."

He said race organisers and state politicians knew as much, but had been at pains to avoid delivering bad news before the 2008 event.

The Monaco-based businessman whose company has an annual global turnover of almost $2 billion, said the public had been subjected to a farcical charade by local race organisers and the State Government who would have announced Indy's 2009 involvement by now if there were any chance of the international series returning here.

"They've (politicians and Indy organisers) been trying to avoid any controversy during the event," said Mr Sharpe, a one-time naming rights sponsor of the race.

"I have put pressure on these guys to tell us exactly whether it's a goer and they won't do it until after the event.

"If you were running this event you'd want to be announcing the details of next year's event at the race, not after it.

"Every other year they've announced it before or during the race -- that's living proof the (2009) race is dead."

Mr Sharpe, whose company has been involved with Indy since it began in 1991, said the Surfers Paradise race held little interest for US sponsors and that coming to Australia was simply too costly for the race teams.

"Their (US) market is so huge and the money is so huge, that the cost of shipping people around the world is so large, they (IRL) have made a commercial decision based around their American race fans," said Mr Sharpe.

The IRL's commercial division president Terry Angstadt yesterday said that in its newly-merged incarnation, the IRL was not seeking greater international exposure.

"We are US-based series that also races internationally -- are we looking for lots of international expansion? No we're not," said Mr Angstadt.

"We think there will be a day where we can expand internationally but it's just probably not in (20)09 or (20)10."

Costs were also a large factor for the IRL, he said.

"Costs are a big consideration. It has to make sense for the drivers, the teams, the promoters, the league -- everybody," he said.

He said the IRL still preferred its late September or March dates so as to avoid any clash with the NFL (American football) season, but had three alternative dates to the Gold Coast's preferred late October date.

Indy chairman Terry Mackenroth, who has remained tight-lipped for months about the future of Indy on the Gold Coast, said a 'binding contract' would be signed within 14 days of the event, but denied the State Government was negotiating with an alternative open-wheel series.

tbh it was more interesting than any Champ Car races at Surfers in the last 6 or 7 years.

Wow 1 decent race!